Experimental Comparison of Tracking Algorithms in the Presence of Aircraft Boundary-Layer Distortions for an Emulated Free-Space Laser Communications Link
Name
Roth_experimental comparison.pdf
Size
1.76 MB
Format
Adobe PDF
Checksum (MD5)
b796eb3796b3f72fa4adf6a1dfcaffb6
Author(s)
Williams, Timothy H.
Roth, Jeffrey M.
Murphy, Robert J.
Michael, Steven
Wilcox, William E., Jr.
Conrad, Ross A.
Alternative Title
Experimental comparison of tracking algorithms in the presence of aircraft boundary-layer distortions for emulated free-space laser communication links
Date Issued
December 2008
Journal
Applied Optics
Publisher
Optical Society of America
Citation
Ross A. Conrad, Robert J. Murphy, Timothy H. Williams, William E. Wilcox, Steven Michael, and Jeffrey M. Roth, "Experimental comparison of tracking algorithms in the presence of aircraft boundary-layer distortions for emulated free-space laser communication links," Appl. Opt. 48, A98-A106 (2009) http://www.opticsinfobase.org/abstract.cfm?URI=ao-48-1-A98
Version
Author's final manuscript
Abstract
We report experiments comparing different focal plane array (FPA) tracking algorithms for emulated laser communication links between an aircraft and spacecraft. The links include look-angle-dependent phase disturbances caused by boundary-layer turbulence replicated by using a deformable mirror. Impairments from platform jitter, atmospheric scintillation, and propagation delay are also included. We study a hyperhemispherical dome geometry that provides a large field of regard but generates boundary-layer turbulence. Results from experiments comparing peak and centroid FPA tracking algorithms in various environments show that power delivered to the optical fiber varies with algorithm and look angle. An improvement in steady-state fiber-coupled power of up to 1.0 dB can be achieved through appropriate choice of algorithm. In a real system, this advantage could be realized by implementing a tracking processor that dynamically changes its tracking algorithm depending on look angle and other parameters correlated to boundary-layer turbulence.
MIT Department
Lincoln Laboratory
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics
Persistent DSpace Link
DOI of Published Version
https://doi.org/10.1364/AO.48.000A98
